News Releases 

As a child, Kami Mak grew up with limited finances, and her family was unaware of the resources available to help their financial situation. Wanting to ensure greater financial freedom and stability for her future, Mak decided to learn as much as she could about money management and budgeting. Through the help of a mentor, this BYU Marriott School of Business senior grew from a financial novice to an up-and-coming expert now working as a financial analyst intern at a multinational technology company.  

Barbers are often busy with their hands in clients' hair—cutting, trimming, dyeing, and styling. Understandably, answering a ringing phone isn't usually their first priority. Luckily, BYU math junior Austin Petersen recently thought of a solution: an AI-powered, phone-answering company called Lovage Labs.

When Tom Peterson graduated from BYU in 1981, he thought he had already come to fully appreciate the value of his BYU education. What Peterson did not know at the time, however, was how much his love for the school would continue to grow, and that he would eventually return to the university as a professor with 25 years of industry experience. Now, as an associate professor of entrepreneurship at the BYU Marriott School of Business, Peterson shares his unique life lessons with students.

The potential to achieve lasting and meaningful success in life is within each of us—at least that's what strategy senior David Rawson says. For Rawson, he is following a career path that he believes will help him aid others in finding success and becoming the best version of themselves. Rawson's goals were inspired by his service as a missionary in Brazil and the knowledge he gleaned from a book that TIME magazine called one of the 25 most influential business management books.

On November 11, 2021, the BYU Air Force and Army ROTC at the BYU Marriott School of Business commemorated Veterans Day through a wreath-laying ceremony and presidential review.

With her heart pounding, BYU Marriott MPA student Olivia Hoj-Simister anxiously awaited the sound of the buzzer to start the race that would, in the end, crown her a national champion. As the first leg in the women's distance medley relay at the 2021 NCAA DI Indoor Track and Field Championships, she helped her teammates emerge victorious and claim BYU's first national title in the event.

BYU students across campus—whether they’re majoring in computer science, microbiology, or anything in between—can gain a business background for any number of careers or prepare now to build their own startups by earning the entrepreneurship minor at the BYU Marriott School of Business. The minor is designed to complement the knowledge students gain through their majors by teaching business skills and inspiring students to consider different ways to enter the entrepreneurial field.

When Rebecca Tanner was a human development student at BYU, she wrote a research paper about the benefits of reading to a child starting at a young age. This research helped fuel her passion behind Bookroo, a children’s book subscription box company she cofounded with her husband, two sisters-in-law, and their husbands. 

Taking risks may be a challenge for many, but for Saira Aslam risk-taking comes naturally. As a 2015 finance graduate, Aslam’s journey to success began when she moved more than 7,500 miles to study at the BYU Marriott School of Business. After graduating and working in several corporate finance positions, she has learned that the secret to success, both in life and in finance, is found through navigating opportunities that possess potential risk.  

Brian Spilker landed his dream job when he accepted an assistant professor position in the School of Accountancy at the BYU Marriott School of Business in 1993. A basketball enthusiast, he likes to joke that "other than playing point guard for the Utah Jazz, I can't think of anything I'd rather be doing for a career."

Shortly after getting married, Gustavo Zioli and his wife, Lais, decided they could build a better future for their family if Zioli pursued a business degree in the United States. When the couple moved from Brazil to Utah in 2015, Zioli initially wanted to study marketing. However, an experience as a student employee forever changed the trajectory of his career.

BYU Marriott MPA alum Ed Thatcher grew up on a farm, and he learned that farming was long, hard work. Though many enjoy the lifestyle, Thatcher decided living on a farm wasn’t for him.

Throughout his ninety years, MPA alum Karl Snow has used his experiences to serve the community in many ways: working for the Utah state government, BYU Marriott, and South African humanitarian projects.

When Patricia Wilson thinks about her hometown in Cali, Colombia, she remembers the fruit: fresh mangoes, ripe bananas pulled directly off the trees, and her favorite—maracujá—also known as passion fruit. While Wilson loved many aspects of Cali, she left in 1993 and moved to Provo to pursue her college education. Two decades later, she returned to BYU as an employee, where she now works as the business manager for the School of Accountancy (SOA) at the BYU Marriott School of Business.

Receiving an award in Gary C. Cornia's name felt personally meaningful to Sally Wallace, especially since Cornia is one of her role models. Wallace, the dean of the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies at Georgia State University (GSU), was honored as this year's Gary C. Cornia Lecture Series Award recipient at a banquet held on October 28, 2021. Cornia was a former dean of the BYU Marriott School of Business.

Two student teams from the BYU Marriott School of Business traveled to Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana, and walked away with four top-two finishes at the 2021 Purdue HR Case Competition this month. The annual competition tasks human resource students across the country with presenting an analysis of a prevalent HR issue.

When visitors enter a LEGO store, they are often treated to elaborate designs painstakingly put together to represent favorite characters, movies, games, architectural wonders, and more. When BYU Marriott senior Megan Atkisson visited a London LEGO store in 2018 on a study abroad trip, she instead focused on learning the blueprint for how to build her dream career in employee experience design.

During summer 2021, an estimated 75,000 accounting graduates across the United States took a 16-hour exam to become a licensed certified public accountant (CPA). The CPA exam is a rigorous test, with passing rates ranging from 46 to 60 percent. Two accounting alumni from the BYU Marriott School of Business, Kathrine Jensen and Jared Nielsen, not only passed the CPA exam but aced all four sections and received one of the most prestigious recognitions in accounting: the Elijah Watt Sells Award. 

When Camilla Hodge graduated from BYU with a degree in communications, she never imagined she would return to the university 14 years later as a professor. Hodge's life has been characterized by meaningful connections, including those that led to her career change and new teaching position at BYU Marriott.

While a trolley bus system has not been used in Utah for 75 years, an antique bus will soon be gracing the streets of Provo thanks to BYU Marriott entrepreneurship senior Afton Ellis Long.